Poly High will honor former boys basketball coach Ron Palmer in a ceremony Friday by renaming its gymnasium the Ron Palmer Pavilion.

The ceremony will be held at halftime of the Jordan-Poly Moore League game, which begins at 6:30 p.m.

Palmer coached Poly for 25 years and led the Jackrabbits to eight CIF Southern Section titles, three state crowns and one national title as well as numerous Moore League championships.

“It’s definitely a great chance to show people just how much (Palmer has) meant to the school and the community,” said current Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer, who took over the Poly program in 2004. “There’s no better way to do that than, when you walk into the gym, you see his name.”

Palmer finished his career with a record of 601-150. He’s one of just 10 high school coaches to earn at least 600 career victories.

Wrestling

There’s been a change in the program at Wilson High, complete with its own soundtrack.

First-year coach Seth Wetger has about 50 athletes in the program right now, the biggest Bruins turnout in years. Wilson is 0-2 in Moore League competition but has several outstanding wrestlers, including Alfred McWilliams at 145 pounds, Jack Charleston (152), Joe Keys (215) and Elliot Quesada (heavyweight).

And when the Bruins were greeted by music on the PA system when they emerged from their locker room to warmups Thursday against Lakewood, it wasn’t to the strains of the latest hard rock hit or hip-hop anthem. It was to Van Morrison’s “Moondance,” released in 1970 and definitely not the high-energy music usually associated with a sporting event, especially one as aggressive as wrestling.

McWilliams, Charleston and Quesada earned victories in last week’s loss to Lakewood, and the Wilson coaching staff felt Keys had earned a pin in his match as well but never got the call. Late in the third and final period, Keys trailed Chase Mirrassou, 9-6. In the final moments of the period, Keys turned Mirrassou onto his back while Wegter and his staff pleaded with the official to call the pin. Keys was awarded three points for a near fall to tie the match but the pin was never called, sending the match to overtime.

Neither athlete could score in the first two overtime periods. But Mirrassou eventually scored a takedown in the third OT and won, 11-9.

“It was a pin,” Wegter said following the meet. “It was clearly a pin.”

Baseball

Any former Poly High baseball player is invited to participate in the 2007 Poly Alumni Game.

The game will be played at 11 a.m. on Feb. 17 at Blair Field.

For more information, contact Poly coach Toby Hess at (562) 685-3072.

– David Felton

Girls basketball

On Saturday, Jordan High will honor former teacher, coach and athletic director Lorie Lindahl with a four-team, one-day event.

The Lorie Lindahl Extravaganza kicks off at 4:30 p.m. with Lakewood facing Inglewood. The second game features Bishop Montgomery against the host Panthers at 6 p.m.

The event also serves as a fund-raiser for the Lorie Lindahl Memorial Scholarship Fund. Anyone wanting to contribute to the Lindahl scholarship can write to Jordan High, 6500 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, Ca., 90805.

– David Felton

Lynwood played with a heavy heart against La Jolla Country Day on Saturday in San Diego.

On Thursday, coach Ellis Barfield-Matthews Jr., his daughter Brianna and niece Jessica paid tribute to the life of Ellis Barfield-Matthews Sr. at a memorial service. The elder Barfield-Matthews died Jan. 2 of heart failure.

For the past four years, Ellis Jr. took care of his ailing father, who was a big supporter of his son and the program.

“He was a big sports fan,” Ellis Jr. said. “He was the reason for us being in sports.”

Ellis Sr., 61, an avid sportsman who grew up around Jackson, Miss., moved to the Lynwood-Compton area in 1976 with his wife Elizabeth and raised Ellis Jr. and several of his siblings. He loved everything from fishing to basketball. Ellis Sr. supported all of his children in sports and taught them the importance of family and community. And generations of Barfield-Matthews’ have competed at Lynwood, with some even returning to coach in the Knights programs.

“Right now, coaching keeps my mind off the negative,” Ellis Jr. said. “He did his duties as a dad. We are thankful for our father’s life. God gave me the strength to be with him. I was fortunate to take care of him, and do what I love to do, coaching basketball. Dad was there for all of us. And to be able to do it for him was great.”